Tragically, on the foreign policy front we have the same old its-all-about-us-and-anyway-brown-people-on-the-other-side-of-the-earth-live-and-die-to-serve-our-ne eds-and-desires imperialist gang we have seen before. Therefore not a whole lot will change for the Middle East and the rest of the Muslim world. As for Palestinians, they can just eat shit and die, despite Obama's former associations with moderate Palestinian scholars like Rashid Khalidi and Edward Sa`id. I am not well versed when it comes to Latin America, but I suspect not much will change there either.

Obama can be expected to take a much more collaborative position with respect to Europe, though, so it's not all bad.

Damn, I'm addicted...heading out for a full day of GOTV here in NH.

Thought I'd respond to the Sec of Ed - it's in the bag for Linda Darling-Hammond (Stanford prof.)  Obama's going to need some very competent people around him to turn back the last 8 years.  

It's exciting, yet somehow a little scary, to start thinking about this.

Why should we expect to draw an administration from Congress when we will need them to get Obama's legislation through?

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would be better as Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency; there are a lot of regulations there that need to be revised. Enforcement needs some spine.  And the EPA could strengthen its volunteer monitoring program.

Interior Secretary needs to go to a Westerner who has some understanding of the public land leasing provisions and how companies have been ripping off the government; also the sensitivity to prevent another small lessee "Sagebrush Rebellion".  I don't know who this would be, but that is the person that progressives need.  There are other parts of Interior that need serious rebuilding, but undersecretaries are well-enough suited for that--so long as they have support from the top.

Nydia Valazquez is a recognized expert in small business policy.  If brought into the administration, she would be more helpful as Secretary of Commerce.  That agency needs massive redirection toward support of small businesses.  The major function of SBA is for startup capital for small businesses; it primarilies does loan guarantees.  You need prudence more than policy chops here; Velazquez certainly could do it but it would not put her experience to best use.

50 states, 210 media market, 435 Congressional Districts, 3080 counties, 192,480 precincts

We need to start looking for talent to staff out all of the presidential appointments.  The Plum Book for 2004 gives you an idea of the types of positions the Bush administration made political appointments.  There were some 3000 of them.

A key symbolic decision would be for the Obama administration to reduce the number of positions that are presidentially appointed.  And concentrate of folks who can actually do the job instead of being rewards for campaigning (such as heckuva job Brownie in the Bush administration).

50 states, 210 media market, 435 Congressional Districts, 3080 counties, 192,480 precincts

Not a helluva lot to go on for "progressives" there, but not too bad.  (I'm sorry, but I refuse to play this word game.  I'm a liberal.  "Progressive" seems to be what Dems call themselves to avoid being called liberals.  "Liberal" is a good word, and we should defend it.)  I'm pleased, however, by what Obama's economic team has been saying.  Even the Clintonistas like Summers are leaning more heavily on social investment and solving the problem of falling wages instead of focusing on balanced budgets as they did under Bill.

The Reich-Stiglitz-Krugman wing of the economic left seems to have won out on those issues.  And that is change I can believe in.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to you country.

Rich Trumka the Sec/Treasurer of the AFL/CIO might be a better choice for SecLabor.

Stern may be a progressive, but he's not a small d democrat and has traditionally overweighted his staff and electeds with Ivy Leaguers, rather than grooming the members for leadership positions.

Trumka was the first union leader to really go the the mat for Obama on the race issue. This is really a much see speech.

As former president of the United Mineworkers, he has significant experience dealing with pension and benefit issues which will be a huge problem for both labor and management over the next several years. He's also not afraid to call a strike.

Trumka's bio From the AFL-CIO website:

The youngest secretary-treasurer in AFL-CIO history, Richard L. Trumka was first elected to the post in October 1995 at the age of 46. Born in Nemacolin, Pa., on July 24, 1949, Trumka was elected to the AFL-CIO Executive Council in 1989. At the time of his election to secretary-treasurer, he was serving his third term as president of the Mine Workers.

At the UMWA, Trumka led two major strikes against the Pittston Coal Co. and the Bituminous Coal Operators Association. The actions resulted in significant advances in employee-employer cooperation and the enhancement of mine workers' job security, pensions and benefits. In 1994, President Clinton named him to the Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform to represent the interests of working families.

For Ben& Jerry at SBA

Unfortunately, the first candidate who seems to be getting publicly aired in Rahm Emmanuel as chief of staff. You yourself, Boo, have recently said how important that position is.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/10/31/1620851.aspx

My question is will we see a reasonable and progressive answer to drug policy questions that face the country and world? Who will be put forward to head the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP, which has outlived its usefulness and at least its Director should not be a cabinet-level position, and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which has become corrupt and should probably be made an arm of the FBI?

Only when we see these questions answered and see who is put forward to serve in these positions will we see how thoughtful a new administration will be on drug policy.

Who would you have serve as Director of the ONDCP?

Who would you have serve as Administrator of DEA?

Onward, through the fog!